Over the past four decades, the share of income devoted to health care nearly tripled. If policy is unchanged, this trend is likely to continue. Should Americans decide to rein in the growth of health care spending, they will be forced to consider whether to ration care for the well-insured, a prospect that is odious and unthinkable to many. This book argues that sensible health care rationing can not only save money but improve general welfare and public health. It reviews the experience with health care rationing in Great Britain. The choices the British have made point up the nature of the options Americans will face if they wish to keep public health care budgets from driving taxes ever higher and private health care spending from crowding out increases in other forms of worker compensation and consumption. This book explains why serious consideration of health care rationing is inescapable. It also provides the information policymakers and concerned citizens need to think clearly about these difficult issues and engage in an informed debate.

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About the Author:

Henry J. Aaron is a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair. Among his many books are Can We Say No? The Challenge of Rationing Health Care, with William B. Schwartz and Melissa Cox (Brookings, 2006), and Reforming Medicare: Options,Tradeoffs, and Opportunities, written with Jeanne Lambrew (Brookings, 2008). William B. Schwartz is an expert on national health policy and is a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California. He was formerly chairman of the Department of Medicine and Vannevar Bush Professor at Tufts University and was also president of the American Society of Nephrology. Melisssa Cox is a student at Yale Law School.

Book Description Brookings Institution Press, 2005. Book Condition: New. Brand New, Unread Copy in Perfect Condition. A+ Customer Service! Summary: Over the past four decades, the share of income devoted to health care nearly tripled. If policy is unchanged, this trend is likely to continue. Should Americans decide to rein in the growth of health care spending, they will be forced to consider whether to ration care for the well insured, a prospect that is odious and unthinkable to many. This book argues that sensible health care rationing not only can save money, but can improve general welfare and public health. It reviews the experience with health care rationing in Great Britain. The choices the British have made point up the nature of the options Americans will face if they wish to keep public health care budgets from driving taxes ever higher and private health care spending from crowding out increases in other forms of worker compensation and consumption. In the words of Henry Aaron and William Schwartz: "On balance, care in the United States for most well-insured patients still remains close to what would be provided if cost were no object and benefits to patients were the sole concern. A sustained slowdown in the growth of health care spending will require rationing-the denial of some beneficial care to some people who have the financial means to pay for it." The highly decentralized U.S. payment system is unique in its lack of effective levers for limiting health care spending. The theme of this book is that the United States will be forced by sharply rising public and private health care spending to consider the adoption of such limits. Perhaps greater use of general practitioners as gatekeepers to specialized care, as utilized by some managed care programs, would help reduce demand and thus the cost of some specialized procedures in the United States. Treatment of painful diseases that are not disabling or likely to cause imminent death would seem to be ripe candidates for rationing in a budget-constrained system, as well, helping to ensure that the system can financially handle truly critical care. In Britain, for example, waiting lists for hip replacements have traditionally been greater than those in the United States. This book explains why serious consideration of health care rationing is inescapable. It also provides the information policymakers and concerned citizens need to think clearly about these difficult issues and engage in an informed debate. Bookseller Inventory # ABE_book_new_0815701217

Book Description BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, United States, 2006. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 226 x 150 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. Over the past four decades, the share of income devoted to health care nearly tripled. If policy is unchanged, this trend is likely to continue. Should Americans decide to rein in the growth of health care spending, they will be forced to consider whether to ration care for the well-insured, a prospect that is odious and unthinkable to many. This book argues that sensible health care rationing can not only save money but improve general welfare and public health. It reviews the experience with health care rationing in Great Britain. The choices the British have made point up the nature of the options Americans will face if they wish to keep public health care budgets from driving taxes ever higher and private health care spending from crowding out increases in other forms of worker compensation and consumption. This book explains why serious consideration of health care rationing is inescapable. It also provides the information policymakers and concerned citizens need to think clearly about these difficult issues and engage in an informed debate. Bookseller Inventory # AAN9780815701217

Book Description BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, United States, 2006. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 226 x 150 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. Over the past four decades, the share of income devoted to health care nearly tripled. If policy is unchanged, this trend is likely to continue. Should Americans decide to rein in the growth of health care spending, they will be forced to consider whether to ration care for the well-insured, a prospect that is odious and unthinkable to many. This book argues that sensible health care rationing can not only save money but improve general welfare and public health. It reviews the experience with health care rationing in Great Britain. The choices the British have made point up the nature of the options Americans will face if they wish to keep public health care budgets from driving taxes ever higher and private health care spending from crowding out increases in other forms of worker compensation and consumption. This book explains why serious consideration of health care rationing is inescapable. It also provides the information policymakers and concerned citizens need to think clearly about these difficult issues and engage in an informed debate. Bookseller Inventory # AAN9780815701217

Book Description Brookings Institution Press. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Paperback. 199 pages. Dimensions: 8.9in. x 5.9in. x 0.6in.Over the past four decades, the share of income devoted to health care nearly tripled. If policy is unchanged, this trend is likely to continue. Should Americans decide to rein in the growth of health care spending, they will be forced to consider whether to ration care for the well-insured, a prospect that is odious and unthinkable to many. This book argues that sensible health care rationing can not only save money but improve general welfare and public health. It reviews the experience with health care rationing in Great Britain. The choices the British have made point up the nature of the options Americans will face if they wish to keep public health care budgets from driving taxes ever higher and private health care spending from crowding out increases in other forms of worker compensation and consumption. This book explains why serious consideration of health care rationing is inescapable. It also provides the information policymakers and concerned citizens need to think clearly about these difficult issues and engage in an informed debate. This item ships from multiple locations. Your book may arrive from Roseburg,OR, La Vergne,TN. Paperback. Bookseller Inventory # 9780815701217

Book Description BROOKINGS INSTITUTION 01/06/2015, 2015. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. This item is printed on demand. Bookseller Inventory # IQ-9780815701217